During the most recent state budget process, Governor Evers proposed using $305 million of the state’s $7 billion surplus to stabilize a number of UW Campuses; however, the Republican-controlled joint finance committee ruled instead to cut the UW System’s budget by $32 million. That’s roughly what the system was spending on diversity, equity, and inclusion staff and programing. Now, UW-Oshkosh is experiencing massive cuts and layoffs, which is like just the first of what will be extensive consequences across the state as the new budget is put into play.

On today’s show, host Nan Enstand welcomes a round table of guests with first-hand experience at UW-Oshkosh and UW-Green Bay as well as expertise in the labor politics of higher education.

UW-Oshkosh student and Leaders for Igniting Transformation (LIT) member Jada Bell spoke about her decision to attend the campus and the way students are feeling the budget cut. UW-Oshkosh Professor Paul Van Auken joins the show from one of his mandated furlough days to talk about the impact on staff and faculty as well as union efforts. Lastly, Vice President of the Higher Education Council at AFT-WI and UW-Green Bay professor Jon Shelton gives a system-wide lens to the conversation.

Jada Bell is a sophomore at UW-Oshkosh and President of the LIT UW-O Chapter.

Paul Van Auken is a Professor of Sociology and Environmental Studies who just started his 17th year on the faculty at UW-Oshkosh. He was a co-founder of AFT-WI local, United Faculty Staff of Oshkosh (UFSO) and continues to serve as organizing director and on the executive board.

Jon Shelton is a professor and chair of democracy and justice studies at UW Green Bay.  He is

the author of The Education Myth: How Human Capital Trumped Social Democracy. He’s a member of UWGB United and Vice President of the Higher Education Council at

AFT-WI.

Image by Royalbroil at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereMore Posts for Show: A Public Affair

Globally, wellness is a trillion dollar industry. From yoga classes and spin bikes, to supplements and natural skin-care products, it seems like wellness is all around us. But what is it? Is this a new phenomenon? And why do “fitfluencers ” and marketers hold so much sway over what we think of a “health?”

Today’s guest Rina Raphael says when everything is marketed as wellness, it becomes hard to know what wellness is. She is the author of The Gospel of Wellness: Gyms, Gurus, Goop and the False Promise of Self-Care. She joins host Jade Iseri-Ramos to discuss the pitfalls of the wellness industry, the power of marketing, and the future of the self-care.

Rina Raphael is a journalist who specializes in health, wellness, tech, and women’s issues. She was a features contributor for Fast Company magazine and has also written for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, CBS, NBC News, and Medium’s Elemental, among other publications. Her wellness industry newsletter, Well To Do, covers trends and offers market analysis.

Photo by Kaylee Garrett on Unsplash

Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereMore Posts for Show: A Public Affair

The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign (WDC) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan watchdog group that tracks money in politics on public database, and advocates for finance reform

Last month, the WDC announced Nicholas Ramos as the organizations new executive director. Nick joined sub host Nate Carlin in the studio to discuss his new role, voter access, anti-SLAPP legislation, the 2024 election, and much more.

Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereMore Posts for Show: A Public Affair

Summer break is over and the first day of school for most Madison 4k through 12th graders was Tuesday. A Public Affair kicks off the school year with MMSD Associate Superintendent of Teaching & Learning Cynthia Green. “What is absolutely essential is the conditions for learning,” she says. By that she means “getting to know each other besides just student to student or student to teacher, but who we are as human beings.”

Cindy and host Carousel Bayrd discuss racial equity, curriculum standards, funding issues, and so much more.

Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereMore Posts for Show: A Public Affair

Early in his life, Jesus Salas and his brothers spent a decade working a migrant worker and eventually settled in Wautoma, Wisconsin. In 1966, at just 22 years-old, Jesus co-founded the farmworkers union Oberos Unidos, which went on to improve working conditions and raise awareness to labor issues on Wisconsin farms. His new memoir Obreros Unidos: The Roots and Legacy of the Farmworkers Union gives an inside look at the farmworkers movement from the migrant labor of his youth to the Wisconsin Latino community.

He joins Douglas Haynes on A Public Affair this Labor Day to talk about the book and the power of wholistic organizing.

Jesus will be in Madison for a Wisconsin Book Festival event on September 20th at 6pm. You can learn more here.

Jesus Salas cofounded Obreros Unidos and was the first Latin CEO of United Migrant Opportunity Services. He taught bilingual courses at Milwaukee Area Technical College for two decades and was a lecturer at UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee. Salas lives in Milwaukee, where he continues to be active in Latino community organizations.

Image from Wisconsin Historical Society, David Giffey, Farm Worker Gives Oath, 91325. Viewed online at wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Image/IM91325

Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereMore Posts for Show: A Public Affair

Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and CEO if the cryptocurrency exchange FTX,  is currently jailed and awaiting trial on conspiracy and fraud. Once one of the riches people in cryptocurrency, Bankman-Fried was the second biggest individual donor to the Democratic party ahead of the 2022 midterms. Today’s guest says Bankman-Fried was trying to buy politicians on both sides of the aisle.

William Black, an expert in white-collar crime, public finance, and regulation, tells A Public Affair, “he didn’t give overwhelmingly to Democrats. He personally gave to Democrats, but he made sure that his top associates gave largely to Republicans.”  He goes on to say, “these are people who control a seemingly legitimate entity and use it as camouflage, a weapon and a shield. His enterprise was a fraud from the beginning.”

Black joins us to explain what happened with FTX and it’s sister company Alameda.

William Black is an American lawyer, academic, author, and a former bank regulator. He is the author of The Best Way to Rob a Bank is to Own One: How Corporate Executives and Politicians Looted the S&L Industry. Black was the deputy staff director of the national commission that investigated the cause of the savings and loan debacle.

Attribution: Cointelegraph accessed on wikimedia.

Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereMore Posts for Show: A Public Affair

Qwantese Dourese Winters a doula, writer, agriculturist, mixed media artist, and now Madison Public Library’s Naturalist in Residence. She is also one of the hosts of “Let’s Grow Stuff” on PBS Wisconsin.

She joins A Public Affair host Bert Zipperer to talk about connecting to ancestral roots by connecting to the land, the racial disparities of childbirth mortality rates in our community, and the healing nature of food.

Qwantese’s first event as Naturalist in Residence is tomorrow Friday, September 1st from 6:00pm to 7:00pm at Troy Farm (502 Troy Drive, Madison, WI 53704). You can see the rest the events on the Madison Public Library website.

Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereMore Posts for Show: A Public Affair

The trauma and abuse that we experience as children can, and often does leave lasting impacts on us as adults. It can appear as anxiety, PTSD and depression. It might lead to  issues regulating emotion or cause disassociation, along other issues. Today’s guest, Joy First, has used doll making to heal from the sexual abuse she experienced as a child. She joins host Jade Iseri-Ramos to talk about how making the dolls helped Joy find authentic self.

Joy First will be showcasing her dolls and telling her story next Thursday, September 7th at the Goodman Community Center from 6pm to 8pm.  You can learn more here. She is also offering a dolling making class for those interested in trauma dolls.

You can contact Joy to learn more about the show and her doll making class at [email protected]

If you would like to speak to someone from the Dane County Rape Crisis Center, you can call the helpline at: 608-251-7273

Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereMore Posts for Show: A Public Affair

Last month, the US House Oversight and Accountability subcommittee heard testimony of UAP* evidence from former Defense Department employee, David Grusch. Grusch is a Air Force veteran and former member of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. He was a key whistleblower during the Hearing on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena along side former air force pilots. 

Grusch testified that he that he saw an image of an UAP incident that can’t be attached to “any human capability.” He told NewsNation, that he had “full security clearance” and”had the ability to be read into any program that I needed.”

Brian Entin has been on front lines of UAP coverage for NewsNation. He joins host Esty Dinur to discuss the hearing and the independent interviews he and his colleagues have conducted regarding UAP encounters.

Brian Entin is NewsNation’s Miami Bureau Correspondent. He is an Emmy award-winning journalist and has reported on major stories, including the trial of Lori Vallow “the Doomsday mom,” the Georgia bullying case of Trent Lehrkamp, the shooting at Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, the Trump indictment, and the murder trial of former South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh, among others.

*UAP stands for Unidentified Aerial Phenomena and is used in place of UFO.

Photo by Marek Piwnicki on Unsplash

Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereMore Posts for Show: A Public Affair

Halfway through her first year as Lieutenant Governor, Sara Rodriguez joins A Public Affair host Carousel Bayrd to talk about her new podcast “The Rodriguez Report.” The podcast is laid out like a statewide road trip in which the LG is interviews folks across the state and breaks down the issues that matter most to them.

One thing she says comes up a lot: health care. “That is one area that I talked to people about across all of Wisconsin. That it is becoming increasingly unaffordable to be able to get the health care that people need,” she tells A Public Affair. As a nurse who has seen the gaps in the system, she calls it a tragedy.

In a show with a handful of callers, Rodriguez also gives her opinions on the state of child care, gerrymandering, and the abortion ban.

Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereMore Posts for Show: A Public Affair